Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Tuesday 11/21 A.M. Quickie:Do the Clothes Make the Coach?

Jack Del Rio looked out of place on the Jaguars sideline last night on national TV. He was nattily dressed in a suit – I'm not sure what really inspired him to do it. (Mike Nolan did the same thing yesterday for the 49ers; his dad used to wear suits and he's wanted to do it since he got the job.)

Del Rio should keep going with the look if it will inspire results like last night's 26-10 thumping of the suddenly reeling Giants, who got all of 26 yards on 10 carries from Tiki Barber. (Maybe he should retire.)

It begs the question what looks more out of place on the sidelines: Suits or sweats (as favored by a guy like Bill Belichick)? Beli's hoody took on mythical properties during the Pats' run – he was the monk who didn't care about his looks, only winning. When they lose, of course, he looks like a schlub.

OhioState's Jim Tressel looks like a dorky dandy in his sweater-vest and tie, but as his team streaks to the national title, it's easy to imagine other coaches adopting the look. (Does a QB with the skills of Troy Smith come tailor-made with the fashion package?)

I guess the lesson is that when a coach is winning, whatever he is wearing looks good.

More big storylines for today:

AL MVP: Jeter's to lose? Jeter-haters may be rooting for Justin Morneau, but it's pointless. Derek Jeter is going to win his first MVP award; it's an individual honor he was glaringly missing.

The winning difference appears to be his RISP, which was 3rd – and significantly higher than his MVP competitors like Morneau or Ortiz. (Remember when people thought Papi was a lock? Ha.)

NL MVP: Howard tops Pujols. Confirms that Ryan is the new "Face of Baseball." (And only a sophomore!)

MLB Hot Stove: Or should that be "silly season?" Today's latest: Juan Pierre is going to get a 5Y/$45M deal from the Dodgers. There is some funny money being thrown around.

College Hoops: I still can't figure out whether youthful Duke is for real, so I'm really looking forward to seeing them versus Marquette tonight; I think 'Quette is one of the most underrated teams in the Top 25.

NBA: Jazz off to best start ever (10-1) AND they just sold the naming rights to their arena to a nuclear waste services company. (Does that mean we can start calling the arena "The Nuke?")

The NBA highlight of the night? Everyone will be talking about 5-9 Nate Robinson blocking the shot of 7-6 Yao Ming. Hopefully, the video footage will get to YouTube.

Yeah, read today that it is a tie between Jeter and Morneau. The reliable NY Post has the story.

As for Duke, they did look decent last night. Air Force did help a little by not being able to make a 3 and missing a few key lay ups. They're still not a championship team, but they ACC should definitely be interesting with them, UNC, G Tech, Maryland and maybe Virginia. (BC sucks)

I don't know about the suit thing. I've always felt that guys in suits look ridiculous trying to coach guys dripping in sweat. I think the team logo on a golf/polo shirt works for me, with jackets/sweaters as needed. It's a game guys, they aren't deciding the fate of the world. Then again, the hoodie thing is too far the other way. Never been able to make up my mind about baseball managers wearing the uniform, I think if you aren't playing, the uniform doesn't work.

Also, Dickie V should be banned from doing Duke games. He is like a Little League dad coaching his son. Nothing's ever wrong with them and there's always an excuse. This Duke team will be fun to watch with McRoberts, Henderson and Thomas and I hate watching games with mute on.

A couple of things. First of all it was the Daily News that said Torre was fired. The NY Post was the first to report he was coming back. I get the Post and they constantly talk about how they have the best sports in town and the Daily News the worst.

I think it would look weird to see a manager in a suit and tie come to the mound to remove a pitcher. So there is something to the uniform on a manager. (Unless we want managers wearing that weird hoodie like Terry Francona.....inspired by Belichick, no doubt.)

Yao got hit in the eye, no call. Takes some of the coolness factor away from the block. Still impressive, though.

It's always cool to have the Big Monday team back, working in Hawaii. You just *know* that it's Bilas's job to chaperone and keep Raftery and McDonough out of trouble after games!

The suits look completely out of place on an NFL sideline and yet, they bring an heir of professionalism and respect that most head coaches lack anymore. I absolutely love them; all coaches should be wearing suits.

My Giants - ugh. Say what you want about their dismal performance last night - particularly Eli's god-awful mechanics/decision making and, even worse, Plax's apparent loafing - but leave Tiki alone. There isn't a more talented, harder working, more respectable personality in the league, and one bad game does not justify the need for retirement.

All of this talk about the "Face of Baseball" makes me wonder: As the marquee player on the marquee team of the country's marquee sport, does that make Tiki the "Face of American Sports"? It should - the way plays the game, combined with the way he carries himself on and off the field, should make him a role model for all of America's youth - but something tells me T.O. or some NBA thug better represents where our sports leagues are heading.

Jeter deserves to be the sole MVP winner, but whether he wins it outright, shares it, or doesn't win it at all won't matter to him one bit without that 27th World Series ring, and that's the way it should be.

as far as suits are concerned... i think its an indoor/outdoor decision. The suit works for indoor sports. The suit looks silly for outdoor sports. Especially b/c the two major outdoor sports take place in extreme weather conditions. What baseball manager wants to be in a suit in the middle of an 100 degree, 99% humidity august day in Atlanta? And, for that matter, what NFL coach wants to be in a suit and parka in Green Bay in december?

Basketball coaches, in my mind, should always be in suits. Remember last year when the NCAA basketball coaches wore sweats for a week? Jay Wright looked RIDICULOUS in sweats.

Ken, The Giants are the Marquee team in the NFL? Since when? Teams that are definitely bigger nationally than the Giants (off the top of my head): Green Bay, San Fran, Dallas, Washington, and Pittsburgh.

Teams that are a notch above the giants: Philly, Chicago, Colts, and Oakland.

Teams that I would put in the same zip code as the Giants in terms of "marquee": Jets, Browns (if only for the way their fans still care after the years of total suckage), and Atlanta (Vick factor).

I would think of all of those teams (not necessarily in the order) before I thought of the Giants.

Just because the Giants play in the biggest market doesn't mean they're marquee.

Also, that wasn't like a complete rankings, it was just off the top of my head. My point is that Tiki is nowhere near the face of anything other than annoying commercials and the dangers of platooning running backs on the health of fantasy owners everywhere.

Only had 3 more runs scored than Damon eventhough he played 5 more games and was outright beat by Grady Sizemore.

Led his team in Hits, but tied Miguel Tejada and was beat by Michael Young and Ichiro.

Was 16th in the AL in doubles including 2nd ON HIS OWN TEAM, beat by Robinson Cano who played 32 LESS GAMES.

Only hit 14 Home Runs (6th on his own team and that's without Matsui and Sheff) which was good for a 5-way tie for 65th in the AL (tied with Milton Bradley, Jorge Cantu, Ian Kinsler, and Michael Young)

Did not get 100 RBI. In fact was 3rd on his own team behind A-Rod and Giambi and only 4 in front of Jorge frickin Posada eventhough Jeter played in 11 more games. His 97 RBI was 22nd in the AL.

Ranked 1st on his team (by 2 over A-rod who had 51 fewer ABs because people walk him cause he's good) but 14th in the league in Total Bases.

3rd on his team (Giambi, Arod) in walks, 17th in the AL.

Led his team in Stolen Bases but was only 7th in the AL.

Led his team (if you don't count Abreu) in OBP by .004 over Giambi but was 4th in the AL.

Was 7th on his team (if you count Matsui and Abreu) in Slugging% and was 29th in the AL.

Led his team in Batting AVG by .001 over Cano and was 2nd in the AL.

So lets recap.....

OF THE "BIG 12" POSITIVE STATISTICS

Jeter led his team in 6 of them. But was 3 runs, 2 total bases, .004 in OBP (if you don't count Abreu who beat him), .001 in AVG from leading his team IN JUST 2 CATEGORIES, STOLEN BASES AND HITS!!!! Ichiro always leads in hits, how many mvps does he have?! and we all know you don't get an MVP for stolen bases.

Oh yeah, LED THE AMERICAN LEAGUE IN ABSOLUTLY NOTHING!!! NOT EVEN ONE STAT

but he's a team leader of a team with no chemistry, left his third basemen out to dry with the media, and HES A WINNER, you know, on the team that can't seem to win with a 200 Million Dollar Payroll.

I'm in favor of calling the former Delta Center "The Nuke." Great idea. And thanks for your one-sentence reference to my Jazz. I know nobody cares, but for crap's sake, when you start 10-1, you should care.

BREAKING SPORTS NEWS: Twins first baseman Justin Morneau won the American League Most Valuable Player Award today, beating out Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter and Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz, who finished second and third, respectively.

Suits are awesome, I mean think of all the great football coaches that wore shirts and ties/suits on the sidelines!Lombardi, Shula, Halas, Bear Bryant, Landry, Ditka, Joe Pa the list can go on…those are legends whose demeanor was made by the suit. Of course you could always have the Bum Phillips cowboy hat look.

AL MVP: Jeter's to lose? Jeter-haters may be rooting for Justin Morneau, but it's pointless. Derek Jeter is going to win his first MVP award; it's an individual honor he was glaringly missing. The winning difference appears to be his RISP, which was 3rd – and significantly higher than his MVP competitors like Morneau or Ortiz. (Remember when people thought Papi was a lock? Ha.)

Big papi almost died Dan, remember THAT...maybe thats why he fell of the MVP pace, that and man-ram quit

The suits are a gesture to the older, legendary coaches, to each is own right...Belichick is not a pretty boy like some other soft coaches, just don't want to see the shorts that Parcells sports in pre-season, puke.

Suits are good - classy. What's wrong with classy? i don't know if I'd want to see a baseball manager in one, but for football, it's just fine. Sweats are for inactive players.

And, if you're going to list marquee NFL franchises, the Giants HAVE to be on the list, along with the Bears, Packers, Steelers, Redskins, and Cowboys. The key is being an "old-money" team that hasn't moved. The Cowboys are a bit of an exception, since the came into existance in the '60s, but there's no question they have that aura about them.

In terms of marquee, or brand names in football that the average guy on the street can recognize, you've actually got quite a few teams that aren't old money. I'd say pats, pack, steelers, raiduhs, cowpokes, and bears lead the list, but the skins and giants and 9ers and dolphins and colts are all just a notch below. then you got the jets, brownies, vikes, chiefs and bills. What makes a franchise marquee is an interesting topic, and its not just winning (although some degree of cumulative success is necessary; otherwise the lions would make the list), but the ability to be recognizable even in the down years. People talk about the raiders more so than the cards even in their down years.

But the giants are definitely a second-tier marquee team, in my mind - ask your average non-NFL fan person to name NFL teams, outside of the northeast, and they will maybe name the giants, but only after the cowboys and steelers and packers and bears (and whatever team is local to them, and maybe whatever team just won the super-bowl last year), but they won't be listing the titans or ravens or jaguars (even though my wife has seen those teams play before, and asked the question before, she'll still ask, 'where are the titans from again?').

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DanShanoff.com is a sports-blog spin-off of my long-time ESPN.com column, "The Daily Quickie." Anchored by an early-morning post of must-know topics, the blog is updated frequently throughout the day with new posts and user comments.